Pitch to Outfront

Outfront is the show where you get to make radio. In other words: Your stories, your radio show.

So, how do you get on Outfront? Simple. Send us your story idea! If we accept it, we'll set you up with recording equipment and teach you how to use it. One of our wonderful producers from across the country will work with you to get your story to air. And, bonus, you'll get paid for it!

Sound like fun? Then send a pitch to outfront@cbc.ca

Nervous about sending us your pitch? Procrastinating? Listen to I Hate Outfront, a humourous piece in which Tara White wrestles with her guilt about not pitching when she knows she should.

Here are some things to keep in mind while preparing your proposal.

What makes an Outfront story?

1. It’s your story.
2. Intimacy… personal insight…a story from the heart.
3. The unresolved…a personal quest.
4. Something is at stake for you. You care, and so we care.
5. Something happens… on tape. It can’t only be in the past.
6. An element of surprise or discovery.
7. A great storytelling moment.
8. Pictures. We see it in our mind’s eye.
9. It’s made for radio.
10. Invention and imagination.

The Details:

1. It’s your story. It’s about something important happening in your life. Yes, your story may be about someone important to you – a friend or enemy, a spouse or parent, for example. Every story needs characters. But in the end, we want to hear about your life…even when there is another strong character. For example, in “Once Was Lost” Barbara Harrison does not just tell a story of her father having Alzheimer’s. She explores how the disease has changed his personality and how that has affected her tempestuous relationship with him.

2. Intimacy… personal insight. It’s a story from the heart. Nothing draws the listener into a story as much as you inviting them into your private world. It’s like when you confide a secret. The listener draws closer. Intimacy is about giving a voice to your inner world…your hopes, anxieties, resentments, unspoken joys, hidden fears, wildest dreams. It’s about inviting us along as your life unfolds. This, captured on tape, helps you tell your story.

3. The unresolved. The personal quest. A story that grabs you from the beginning usually involves something unexplained, a desire unfulfilled, a riddle. In our lives we have all sorts of unfinished business, all sorts of gaps between what we want and what we have. (And we don’t just mean what we want to buy.) What happens in the story is usually driven by someone trying to get something they want, but can’t or don’t have. We don’t know how it’s going to turn out. That’s what keeps us reading, or watching, or in the case of Outfront, listening.

4. Something is at stake for you. As listeners, we care about your story when we understand that it’s something important to you, something that will make a difference in your life. This doesn’t mean that the story needs to be heavy. For example, in “It’s Like Riding a Bike”, we experience Christa Couture’s joy, as she tries to ride a bicycle for the first time since she was a girl. The reason why she stopped riding, and why trying again is so important makes us care about her.

5. Something happens. Your story shouldn’t be entirely in the past. Yes, it may draw on past events. Most stories do. But there should still be something left to unfold…on tape. Why? It builds suspense. We (and you) don’t know how it’s going to turn out. Secondly, it means that you can tell your story in scenes that you record. Scenes are the building blocks for documentaries. Thirdly, a story set only in the past is hard to recapture. Your recollections may be vivid, but they can only go so far, and a single voice will sustain only so long.
That said, it can be done. We have produced some stories set only in the past. So it isn’t absolute no-no. However usually these stories exploit an additional storytelling element such as personal journals, archival tape, or poetry.
If a story is still powerful for you all these years later, reflect on why. There may yet be a present tense to it that you haven’t explored.

6. Surprise or discovery. As listeners, we love to hear the unexpected. We grow impatient with the predictable.

7. A great storytelling moment. One day you burst through the door, and the first thing you say to the person in the room is, “you’ll never guess what happened.” That is usually the start of a great story. Captured on tape, your Outfront story springs to life. If what happened wasn’t taped, and it’s pivotal to the story, we will find ways of bringing it to life. But it’s always better if the tape takes you there.

8. Pictures. We see the scene in our mind’s eye. Think of radio as a visual medium, and the microphone as a camera. Suppose your microphone records someone’s voice. Quite aside from what they are saying, the timbre, emotion, and accent build a picture of what the person looks like. A sound as simple as a door opening creates a picture. It tells you something has happened or is about to happen. A creaky hinge and a clang as a door slams shut may suggest that you are in a jail. Radio hooks us when it asks us to use our imagination. When we do, we make pictures in our mind’s eye.

9. It’s made for radio. Ever go to a movie based on a novel you love, and leave the theatre disappointed? One reason is that the qualities of the novel are embedded in the medium of prose. The same goes for radio storytelling. We can help you tell your story in a way that suits radio -- with scenes, characters, sound, etc. We're not print-on-air. We don't do readings. We're not the right place for essays or opinion pieces, for memoirs or fiction.

10. Inventiveness and imagination. Tempt us with new ways of using radio to tell stories. Make us an offer we can’t refuse. We love trial balloons, follies, flights of fancy, playfulness. Every so often, rules are made to be broken. Want to know what we mean? Listen to some of these:

The Change in Farming
Composer Adam Goddard uses the music of his grandfather’s voice to tell a story about their relationship, and the passage of time.

Crazy Like a Fox
Years ago Darren O'Donnell experienced a psychotic episode which ultimately landed him in the hospital. Darren takes us inside those psychotic months leading up to his final breakdown. As he says, they were some of the best times he's ever had.

In My Language I Am Smart
Dragan Todorovic, a celebrated author in his homeland, creates a fantasy world to explain the difficulties of learning English.

Dear Piano
Michele Morra talks about her love-hate relationship with the piano that she has owned for decades. She writes a letter to the piano, which she has tired of and now wants to sell. The piano, speaking in its own instrumental voice, becomes a character in the piece.

Tips on writing your pitch:

Listen to the show so you know what we do. Outfront is heard at 8.43 pm (9:13 NT) Tuesday - Friday on Radio One. We also have many episodes posted on this web site.

Where do I get ideas? One way is by brainstorming. Pen and paper ready, just let your thoughts fly. Consider:

What has been a turning point in your life?
What makes you truly angry, and why?(Our resentments often hold the key to who we are, and the holes in our life.)
What do you want that you can’t get?
What is unresolved in your life?
What would you change in your life?
What goes unsaid in your life, and why?

Now, organize your thoughts so that you can write your pitch. (Please don’t send us your brainstorming. That’s just a step on the way.)

Write the way you speak. No need to be formal. We want to hear your voice and get a sense of your personality. Be yourself.

Keep it brief. We get lots of pitches every week. (Nearly 1000 last year.) We read every single one. So make it easy on us and don't send in a 10-page proposal. One or two pages are grand. If we have questions, we'll contact you before making our decision.

Some key questions, as you put together your pitch: Why do you want to tell this story? Why now? Ask yourself, why do you care so much about this story? Why should others?

It doesn’t have to be perfect. We know stories don’t come fully formed. Even the best novelists, playwrights, and radio producers grope their way to the story. We look for the potential of the story. If it grabs our interest, we can help you develop it.

Tell us where you live. This information is vital to us, and especially easy to forget if you're sending an email. There are lots of places around Canada we're hungry to hear from. We don't get nearly as many pitches as we'd like from the North, the Prairies, Quebec or the Maritimes. So, write us! We want to get your stories on air.

Don’t worry about not knowing how to make radio. We make it our business to teach you, and guide you in the process. Need examples of pitches? Check out our sample pitches and stories by clicking here.

Last thoughts:

When you send us your pitch write Outfront Pitch in your subject line. That way we can quickly distinguish it from the dozens of daily spam emails.

Give us some time to think about your pitch. We like to mull over and discuss each idea, a process we don't want to rush. So don't send a great idea about an event that is, by the way, happening tomorrow. We reply to every submission, so if you don't hear back within a few weeks (a little longer in the summer), follow up.

If we don't accept your proposal, don't give up. We always respond with reasons why the story didn't work for us. Read over the comments and keep them in mind when you're working on your next pitch.

We Pay! For our shorter programs (about nine minutes), we pay between $560 and $700. For a full 13-minute program, we pay between $739 and $990. The rate varies depending on how much help you need to produce the piece and how long it is. All rates are based on the Canadian Media Guild agreement.